Apparatus

ABSTRACT

An apparatus comprises supplying arrangement arranged for receiving a reel and transferring said reel towards an operative position of said reel and auxiliary device arranged for removing a core of an empty reel from said operative position and delivering said reel to said operative position; a method for removing a core from a machine comprises, before said removing, unwinding a final portion of web material from said core so as to store an amount of said web material arranged for feeding operative stations of said machine during replacing of said core with a reel of said web material.

This invention concerns a device for changing a reel on a rolling support.

Specifically, but not exclusively, this invention can be used in conjunction with a machine to form, and possibly fill and seal, containers arranged as a continuous strip and made from two or more continuous webs in thermoformable and heat-sealable material. In general, in these machines the two webs are unwound from two respective reels and are indexed while facing each other, to a series of operating stations comprising at least a heat-sealing station and a forming station.

One of the drawbacks of prior art machines of this kind is the simple and rapid change of the empty reel with a new reel filled of web.

An object of this invention is to improve the known device for changing reels.

Another object is to obtain a device that is able to rapidly perform the change of the reel.

An advantage of the invention is to supply a constructionally simple and cheap apparatus that is very reliable.

Another advantage is to minimise manual intervention by the operator.

A further advantage is to make an apparatus available for changing the reel that, used in conjunction with a machine for forming a strip of containers, enables the reel to be changed without interrupting the operation of the forming machine.

An apparatus according to the invention is disclosed in claim 1.

Further features and advantages of the present invention may be clearly disclosed by the following detailed description of this invention, showed in the accompanying drawings by way of examples that do not limit the scope of the invention.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic side view in a vertical elevation of an apparatus made according to the invention with the reel empty and ready for being changed.

FIGS. 2 to 4 show the apparatus of FIG. 1 in three successive phases of the reel changing operation.

With reference to FIGS. 1 to 4, a reel changing apparatus 1 is shown for changing a reel rotatably coupled to a rolling support 2 of prior art type.

The reel 3 consists of a continuous web made of plastic material, specifically heat-sealable and thermoformable material, wrapped around a core 4 and operationally intended to be unwound from the reel by a feeding device. The core 4 of the reel is provided at opposite ends with two coaxial pivots intended for releasable rotational coupling with the rolling support 2.

In the case in point, in which the real changing apparatus 1 is applied to a machine for forming at least one continuous strip of containers, the prior art feeding device unwinds the web from the feeding reel 3 and indexes said web, alongside another web unwound from another similar reel, through a plurality of operating stations where the facing webs are heat-sealed and thermoformed to obtain the continuous strip of containers, which are subsequently filled and sealed.

The feeding device is provided with a web accumulation unit, of prior art type that is not shown, that is programmed to intervene to feed the operating stations with web for a limited preset time, during which the empty feeding reel will be replaced with a new reel filled of web. The accumulation unit preferably comprises a web accumulation tank (not shown) and a system for rapidly unrolling the web from the reel. The unrolling system may, for example, comprise a motor for commanding controlled rotations of the reel at different speeds and a device for controlling the motor that can actuate the motor to carry out rapid unrolling of a preset quantity of web. The web, when it is unrolled faster than the speed of advance of the web dragged by the feeding device under normal conditions, is freely collected in the accumulation tank.

The reel changing apparatus 1 comprises a couple of first paired arms 5 (only one arm is shown in the Figures), that are parallel to each other and cooperate together to support the reel 3. Each first arm 5 has a first end pivoted around a horizontal rotation axis 5 a. The rotation axes of the two first arms 5 are coaxial. Each first arm 5 furthermore has a second end, opposite the first end, having a hollow seat for housing one of the two end pivots of the core. In the case in point the hollow seat is situated on the external surface of the first arm 5, at the front, with the concave part pointing radially outwards.

Each of the first arms 5 can be rotated, by means of an axial fluid actuator 6, around the common rotation axis 5 a with rotations coordinated so as to remain always parallel to and alongside each other, with the possibility of taking up a first receiving position in which a reel 3 is received from the outside (FIGS. 1 and 2) and a second releasing position in which the reel is released (FIG. 3).

In the first receiving position the second ends of the first arms 5 (provided with seats to accommodate end pivots of the reel) are turned towards an external side of the apparatus and are accessible from the outside. In the first receiving position the first arms 5 are turned with respect to a horizontal plane and the second ends point upwards.

In the second releasing position, the second ends of the first arms 5 are turned towards the inside of the apparatus; the first arms are still turned with respect to a horizontal plane, but are turned in the opposite direction to the first receiving position, and also in this position the second ends are turned upwards.

The reel-change apparatus 1 furthermore comprises a couple of second paired arms 7, that are parallel and cooperate together to support the reel 3. As for the first arms 5, each second arm 7 has a first end pivotable around a horizontal rotation axis 7 a. The rotation axes 7 a of the second arms are coaxial to each other and parallel to the rotation axes 5 a of the first arms. Each second arm 7 has a second end, opposite the first end, provided with a hollow seat for housing one of the two end pivots of the core 4; said hollow seat is located on one side of the second arm 7 and its concave side is tangential to the rotation of the second arm 7.

Each second arms 7 can be rotated, by means of a linear fluid actuator 8, around the coaxial rotation axes 7 a with rotations coordinated so that they are always parallel to and alongside each other, with the possibility of taking up a first top position of reel-loading (marked as a continuous line in FIGS. 1 and 4) and a bottom unloading position (marked as a dashed line in FIG. 1). Both in the bottom position and in the top position of the second arms 7 the concave sides of the hollow seats for accommodating the end pivots of the reel point upwards.

In the first top loading position, a filled reel 3 carried by the second arms 7 is in position so it can be coupled (for example by means of front couplings, or analogous prior art couplings) with the rolling support 2; in this position the core 4 of the reel is preferably coaxial with the rolling support 2 to facilitate coupling. In the bottom unloading position an empty reel (in fact the empty reel mainly consists of the central core 4 around which the web made of plastic material was wound) carried by the second arms 7, is delivered to empty reel removal means underneath. This removal means comprises in the case in point a fixed inclined sliding plane 9 arranged for receiving the empty reel unloaded by the second arms 7 in the bottom unloading position and to make it drop by gravity (in the direction of the arrow K) to a bottom end pick-up zone (located near the outer side of the apparatus 1 to which the operator can easily accede both to fit a filled reel 3 onto the first arms 5, and to withdraw the empty reel), where there is a stop against which the empty reel reaches a static pick-up position.

The second arms 7 are shaped and arranged so as to meet, during their shift G upwards from the bottom unloading position to the top loading position, the pivots at the end of the filled reel 3 released by the first arms 5, to collect the reel and to lift it up to the first top loading position.

In the case in point the transfer of the filled reel 3 from the first arms 5 to the second arms 7 takes place directly whereas the reel 3 is supported by the first arms 5; in other embodiments not shown here an intermediate phase can be provided in which the first arms 5 release the filled reel 3 to a fixed intermediate support located on the upward trajectory of the second arms.

To return to the disclosed example, the second arms 7 are shaped and arranged in such a way that, during the ascending movement G from the bottom position (in which the empty reel is released) to the top position (in which the filled reel is placed on the support 2), the hollow seats of the second arms 7 meet the end pivots of a filled reel 3 when said reel is carried by the first arms 5 with the latter located in their second releasing position (configuration of FIG. 3). This meeting should preferably take place not when the second arms 7 have already reached the top final position (in which the reel 3 is in position for being coupled to the rolling support 2), but before that moment, i.e. when the second arms 7 still have to travel a short distance upwards to arrive to said top final position (said distance is travelled to move from the configuration of FIG. 3 to the configuration of FIG. 4). In this way reciprocal disengagement between the reel and the first arms 5 is possible, with the subsequent possibility of the first arms returning to the external position to receive another filled reel.

Similarly, it is preferable for said meeting (which in the case in point coincides with the transfer of the reel from one pair of arms to the other) should occur when the second arms 7 have already left the initial bottom position (in which the empty reel is released to the evacuation plane), i.e. whilst the second arms 7 have already covered an initial distance of their upward movement (therefore during said movement, which should preferably be continuous with no arrests), and not when the second arms 7 are still in said bottom position. In other words, it is preferable that the transfer of the filled reel 3 from one pair of arms to the other pair should take place at an intermediate point of the route of a pair of arms (with the other pair being preferably stationary), and not at an end point of the route, even if this latter possibility can however be provided.

At least the second ends of the first arms 5 and the second ends of the second arms 7 are staggered with respect to one another in axial direction so that they do not interfere with one another during the transfer of the reel 3 from the first arms to the second arms.

Also the sliding plane 9 for the evacuation of the empty reel (a plane that comprises two distinct parts, each one intended to interact through contact with an end of the empty reel, said distinct parts being alongside one another and spaced apart from one another to enable the axial length of the part of the filled reel constituted by the web wound on the core to be included) is staggered axially both in relation to the first arms 5 and to the second arms 7, for which reason it does not interfere with the movement of said arms.

During operation, when the reel from which the feed device unwinds the web is empty, a first fixing organ 10 for fixing the web releasably blocks in position the final end flap of the web of the empty reel, whilst the accumulation unit of the web is filled so that the machine forming the containers continues to be fed with web and can then proceed regularly without interruptions during the reel change.

At this point the second arms 7 are lowered to deposit the empty reel onto the sliding plane 9. The operator, who withdraws the empty reel, will have previously placed a filled reel 3 on the first arms 5 in external position (FIG. 2). Then the first arms 5 transfer the filled reel 3 towards the inside of the apparatus, by the rotation indicated by arrow F. The second arms 7 then, having freed themselves of the empty reel, move upwards by the rotation indicated by the arrow G. During upward movement the second arms 7, whilst they continue rotation G without stopping, pick up the reel 3 from the first arms 5 in wait in the internal releasing position (FIG. 3 shows the moment of transfer of the reel from the first to the second arms), and continue upward movement until the filled reel 3 is carried to a suitable position (FIG. 4) for being coupled to the rolling support 2 by actuation of the appropriate coupling means.

The initial end flap of the web of the new reel 3 is releasably locked in position by a second fixing organ 11, located opposite the fixing organ 10, and is united (in a known manner) to the final end flap of the web of the previous reel so as to make the two webs continuous. The two movable fixing organs 10 and 11 are then deactivated to release the two webs, that now form a single continuous web, and the feeding device proceeds to unwind the web from the reel 3 that has just been fitted to carry out normal feeding of the web to the operating stations. Said reel change operations are carried out within the operating time of the accumulation unit (ensuring operating continuity of the forming machine of the containers), with intervention by the operator reduced to simply removing the empty reel and placing the filled reel 3 on the first arms 5 situated on the easily accessible external side of the apparatus.

Numerous practical applicative modifications of constructional details can be applied to the apparatus without departing from the scope of the invention claimed below. 

1-20. canceled.
 21. Apparatus, comprising supplying arrangement arranged for receiving a reel and transferring said reel towards an operative position of said reel and auxiliary device arranged for removing a core of an empty reel from said operative position and delivering said reel to said operative position
 22. Apparatus according to claim 21, and further comprising rolling support device arranged for supporting said reel in said operative position.
 23. Apparatus according to claim 21, or 22, wherein said supplying arrangement is movable between a receiving position, in which said supplying arrangement is turned towards the outside of said apparatus for receiving said reel, and a releasing position, in which said supplying arrangement is turned towards the inside of said apparatus for releasing said reel, and vice versa.
 24. Apparatus according to claim 21, wherein said supplying arrangement delivers said reel to said auxiliary device.
 25. Apparatus according to claim 21, wherein said supplying arrangement delivers said reel to intermediate support device from which said reel is collected by said auxiliary device.
 26. Apparatus according to claim 21, wherein said auxiliary device is movable between a loading position in which said reel is arranged in said operative position, and an unloading position, in which said reel is delivered to removal device, and vice versa.
 27. Apparatus according to claim 26, wherein said auxiliary device receives said reel during moving from said unloading position to said loading position.
 28. Apparatus according to claim 21, wherein said supplying arrangement comprises a pair of first arms parallel to each other and cooperating together to support said reel.
 29. Apparatus according to claim 28, wherein said first arms comprises first ends pivotable around a horizontal rotation axis and second ends arranged for receiving end pivots of said core.
 30. Apparatus according to claim 21, wherein said auxiliary device comprises a pair of second arms parallel to each other and cooperating together to support said reel.
 31. Apparatus according to claim 30, wherein said second arms comprise further first ends pivotable around a further horizontal rotation axis and further second ends arranged for receiving said end pivots.
 32. Apparatus according to claim 31, wherein said second ends and said further second ends are staggered in axial direction with respect to each other so that said second ends and said further second ends do not interfere with each other during transferring of said reel.
 33. Apparatus according to claim 31, wherein said second ends and/or said further second ends comprise seat element for housing said end pivots.
 34. Apparatus according to claim 33, wherein said seat element is arranged on said second ends and has a concave part that is turned radially towards the outside.
 35. Apparatus according to claim 33, wherein said seat element is arranged laterally on said further second ends and has a concave part turned upwards.
 36. Apparatus according to claim 31, wherein said rotation axis and said further rotation axis are parallel to each other.
 37. Apparatus according to claim 26, or 27, wherein said removal device comprises inclined sliding plane elements arranged for receive said core.
 38. Machine, comprising an indexing device for indexing web material across a plurality of operative stations of said machine, and further comprising an apparatus for supplying a reel of said web material to said machine and for removing a core of an empty reel from said machine according to claim
 21. 39. Method for removing a core from a machine, wherein before said removing there is provided unwinding a final portion of web material from said core so as to store an amount of said web material arranged for feeding operative stations of said machine during replacing of said core with a reel of said web material.
 40. Method according to claim 39, wherein said unwinding comprises rotating said reel with a speed grater than the advancing speed of said web material across said operative stations. 